-------------------------------------------------
BARF Feeding.
This page was last updated: 2004-05-26
-------------------------------------------------
On this page I am going to tell you, why I have chosen to
feed my dogs the so called BARF (Biological Appropriate Raw
Feeding or Bones And Raw Feeding)
diet, and present to you a list of the ingredients and supplements I feed my
dogs.
I hope that this will inspire you to start feeding your own dog(s) a more
natural, raw diet too, as it is my - and other BARFers' - experience that our
dogs' health is greatly improved by switching ....
Why did I stop
feeding a commercial diet?
Why did I decide on feeding the BARF diet?
What do my dogs get to eat?
Links and literature.
Although, the BARF diet has proven valid for dogs with various health problems - i.e. digestive problems, skin problems and joint problems - it does not replace proper care and treatment by an educated vet or homeopath. If your dog is having any health problems, I therefore strongly recommend that you seek help from a trained professional.
1. Why did I stop feeding a commercial diet.
Back at the beginning of our dog-time, when we had our two Welsh Corgis, we fed them a diet consisting of 1/3 raw meat/tripe + 1/3 grains + 1/3 raw vegetables (in volume, not weight) according to the "Natural Diet" of the Danish Vet. Finn Smed (of course everything back then was "human grade").
Later, partly out of convenience, partly out of necessity (lack of freezer capacity), and partly because I was recommend to do so by my vet, I changed to feed a commercial dog food (though I didn't settle for the brand recommended by my vet., but went on searching for one with less chemical additions). I never fed this diet "alone" - I always added a little extra - some dairy-products, some fresh veggies, some leftovers, some raw meat etc., and I always altered between 2-3 kibbles, to try to make sure that my dogs got everything, they needed.
I cannot say that the dogs didn't thrive on these diets.... I am not one of those dog-owners, that had a sick dog, and "have seen the light" as a result of the treatment of their dog... None of my dogs have had skin problems, allergies or any such problems.. Yet I wasn't completely comfortable with their diet for a number of reasons:
1) I never really understood, why the dogs should be fed this
high amount of grain... The argument given was that "wild dogs" would
have eaten the stomach content of their prey animals... But, this didn't help me
understand, as I cannot imagine that wild animals have much grain in their
stomachs?
(Note: It has been recently questioned, whether the dogs eat the stomach
contents at all, or only choose the soft belly of their prey to start ripping
the animal open. I feel that this last observation might be right... Meaning that our dogs
maybe need even less veggie/grain food than expected till now - making the
composition of commercial dog food even less valuable for the dogs).
2) I also never really understood the concept of making one "mix" out a lot of ingredients, then form it into small "balls", cook it at a high temperature, and then call it a "balanced diet".... Balanced for whom? The Beagles that are kept at the farms ("laboratories"), where the research is carried out? But, who says that what those Beagles need in their protected environment is the same as my dogs of a completely different breed need in our "normal" lives? And with such a "complete diet", how should one be able to feed the dog in accordance with its actual "state"? I.e. when my dogs are shedding their coats, they get a little more oil and protein than usual, to help them grow their new coat. How should I take this into consideration, if their food consisted of a "balanced diet" made up of one ingredient - a commercial dog food.....
Till this point, I didn't have a clear reason for not being
satisfied with the way, I fed my dogs at that time... It was more like a feeling
that I didn't really think it was right.... But this made me start studying a
bit more about commercial dog foods, mostly on the Internet (on the dog links
page, you find some interesting links about commercial dog foods). And
though, I had done a lot of work in order to find a "good" kibble,
that is a kibble with no chemical preservations, no colour, no artificial taste,
and with "real" meat at a fairly high rate, and not too much of grain,
I soon learned that this was not even nearly as healthy, as I thought it to
be... And I realised that my feeling about the commercial dog foods was right, I
wasn't doing my dogs much good by feeding them this "sophisticated result
of years of human research"..... and I decided to go looking for yet
another diet, as neither the "Natural Diet" by Finn Smed as described
above, or commercial dog food really made me comfortable by feeding it
(Note: At this point, even if I do not totally agree with Finn Smed on
his diet, I would consider it as being FAR better than any commercial diet I
know of).
---------------------------------------------------------------
2. Why did I decide on feeding the BARF diet.
So I started looking for a diet for my dogs that I would have the right feeling about, and that would meet my criteria about being "homemade, human grade and with only a little or no grain".
During my search, I read about the BARF diet on the net, and found it to be very interesting, but also a bit complicated to start up with. So, it was only, when a friend of mine (thank you Susanne!) pointed me to a number of mailing lists about BARF feeding and the books by Ian Billinghurst that I felt I knew enough about the diet to start feeding my own dogs this way (my dog's diet here).
Right from the beginning the concept of the BARF diet made sense to me. Feeding the dogs a diet as close to their natural diet as possible, a diet they have been "constructed" to thrive on for thousands and thousands of years, a diet free of chemical additives and flavours and with no or at least very little grain - it really seemed to be the diet I was looking for.
And unlike many other "new BARF'ers", I have met through the mailing-lists, I am a member of - I never really was worried about bacteria (i.e. Salmonella), as the explanation from the experienced BARF'ers that the dogs have been developed to handle these bacteria for thousands of years, and that the enzymes and bacteria in their digestive system were fully able to handle these natural bacteria found in raw meat - it really made sense to me. Because how else would animals like foxes and wolfs have been able to survive this long - many of which are living merely on human leftovers?
Also the argument that the reason why bones had/has a reputation of being dangerous to dogs to eat, is that they have mostly been fed cooked, and therefore with an altered/destroyed bone structure, made sense to me... Wolves and foxes have been eating raw bones for a long, long time and they have been thriving enough on this diet to survive till now... Also, the fact that "weight carrying bones" have another structure than "soft bones" is obvious to anyone, who has ever parted a chicken or turkey... And, it is known from us as well - as a rider I have known many people to fall of their horses and bend a rib... I have never heard of anyone to bend a "leg-bone".. They mostly break instead, because they are hard, easy splintering bones, not soft and bendable like the ribs.
Yes, I know that it is probably impossible to feed a diet that
is exactly the same, as the dogs would have eaten as wild dogs. That is, if you
do not grow your own chickens or rabbits, and then feed them whole to the dogs,
which most of us do not have the possibility to do - nor feel like doing it.
But even if the diet is not completely authentic, it is as close as one can get,
especially if you keep the goal "as authentic as possible" in mind,
when shopping and preparing for your dogs.
Alone the basic principles of the BARF diet:
Feeding raw - feeding lots of bones - feeding a variety of food - balance over
time
make so much sense to me that I wonder why, I didn't "invent" this
diet myself many yeas ago.
Of the above principles the first three are explained further in the "my dogs' diet" section, and the fourth is actually very obvious and simple... In stead of the "each meal has to be balanced" tradition that has arisen from the campaigns for the commercial dog foods, we all have been fed with over the past decades, the BARF diet should be "balanced over time". That is that you should provide your dog with all the nutrition it needs over a certain period of time (Billinghurst suggest over 2 weeks of time), but each meal does not have to be balanced. And again this makes completely sense to me, as this is the way we "feed" ourselves... At least most people I know, if not everybody I know, does not eat a diet that is balanced at every meal. They eat a variety of food in order to balance their diet over some time - eventually adding a few supplements to make sure, their diet is not lacking any essential nutrition. So why not feed your dogs following the same principles as when you are "feeding" your family?
Finally, I must admit that I am not quite as fanatic about the BARF diet as some of the most enthusiastic BARF'ers are. Even though I myself feed a "real" BARF diet with no grain, I do not necessarily consider a diet that includes a small amount of grain as "inferior" as long as the dog doesn't have an allergy or other digestive problems from the grain... I just don't see the benefit of feeding the grain... And although I don't think, I would ever go back to feed a commercial dry dog food again, I do not consider ALL commercial brands to be health endangering to your dog... But I would NEVER feed the commercial dog food as the primary part of a dog's food - and I would be very, very careful when selecting the brand, making absolutely sure, it did not contain any artificial preservation, flavour etc. And making sure, the ingredients were of human grade - with a minimum content of grain.
However - I do prefer and recommend the BARF diet!
---------------------------------------------------------------
3. What do my dogs get to eat.
Important issues to the BARF concept My dogs' menu
What you will learn, when you start reading about the BARF or Natural diet is that there are many different ways of approaching the what, when and how to feed the dogs. This of course is based on the different experiences each BARF'er has done with various sorts of food, and what each dog likes the most and thrives on.
The most important things to have in mind, when feeding your dog a BARF/natural diet are:
1. Raw! Because: Cooking, baking or extruding the food kills the enzymes and destroys lots/most of the nutrition of the food.
2. Human grade! Because: You do not want to feed your dog all the chemicals that are allowed in "animal grade" food. Not that our food is too healthy, but it's far better than "dog" food.
3. Variation! Because: Only by feeding a wide range of different ingredients can you be sure that your dog gets all the nutrition it needs - and at the same time you do what you can to prevent your dog from developing allergies.
4. Basic ingredient should be Raw Meaty Bones (RMBs)!
Because: RMBs provide lots of valuable nutrition (minerals incl. calcium and
phosphorus from the bones, more minerals from the marrow, and of course proteins
and fat from the meat. RMBs are defined as soft bones covered by meat (about
50:50 bones and meat). The RMBs should form between 50-80% of your dog's diet,
depending on your dog's age (as your dog grows older, you can decrease the
amount of RMBs in its food - but you do not have to).
Another benefit your dog will have from eating RMBs is: Clean teeth! Which again
greatly improves your dog's health.
And RMBs really have to be RAW... Cooking or baking bones makes
them hard and more likely to splinter and eventually harm your dog. Important:
Do never feed your dog bones that are not raw!!!
Examples of RMBs could be chicken wings, chicken/turkey necks,
chicken/turkey backs, sheep/lamb/goat/pork ribs and necks, rabbits (whole
carcasses) - and for larger dogs even beef/calf bones will do. Should you have
access to game, you can feed necks/bags of most birds and ribs/necks of most
deer. Even whole fish (incl. heads and tails) can be considered RMBs.
What should be avoided as RMBs is any weight carrying bones (hollow marrow
bones), as they are harder and more likely to splinter. But these kind of bones
make excellent toys, as long as they are fed so large that the dog cannot
"eat" them.
What kind of RMBs you should feed is of course depending on the size of your
dog, what is available to you, what does your dog like and thrive on. The bones
should provide some chewing time for your dog, meaning that feeding only i.e.
chicken necks/wings to larger breeds should be avoided.
5. The other part of the diet should be the veggiemix! Veggiemix is half vegetables, minced or juiced to make the nutrition available for the dog's digesting system (dogs cannot digest cellulose). The other half is made of a "protein source". Could be: Ground meat (beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, rabbit), liver, heart, tongue or other intestines from these animals, fish, eggs, cottage cheese or yoghurt. Of this the intestines should not form more than 25-30%. The veggies used could be anything, you have left over from your own household. But most preferable you should use green leafy veggies, and not too many root veggies. You can also include any fruit in the veggiemix, as they provide vitamins and a little sweet taste, which most dogs seem to like.
6. Supplements! This is a topic of great controversy.
Some do not supplement at all, some supplement a little, and some supplement a
lot. This will of course again be based on personal experiences and knowledge,
but basically a diet based on a wide range of ingredients should not need to be
supplemented at all. However, there are lots of "evidence" out there
indicating that supplementing with a range of vitamins, minerals and herbs is
beneficial for the health of the dogs (and us) - and then again there are people
who address specific "issues" by supplementing various herbal mixes. I
can only advise you to read and learn yourself, as you are the only one, who
knows your dog and have an idea of, what could be needed.
Please, remember that if your dog is suffering from any kind of disease, you
should see a trained professional, before starting any treatment by yourself.
Also, you should consult a trained professional about, what supplements to give.
7. How often should the dog be fed? Again, there are
different opinions on this - and again, it depends on what is suitable for your
household, and what makes your dog most happy!
Some people advocate fasting the dogs once a week, because it gives the dog's
"system" a chance to regenerate and concentrate on other things than
digestion. Others are feeding only once a day.... Others again twice or even
three times or more a day... And again, it depends on how your dog response to
the regime you introduce.
I feed my dogs twice a day. In the morning they get their RMBs. I feed them outside, so I do not need to worry about my floors getting greasy. Their main RMBs are chicken necks and pork ribs/necks. But I also feed lamb ribs and whole chicken carcasses on a regular basis. They each get about 500 gr. of RMBs every day.
I do not fast my dogs, as I cannot stand being "followed" by those complaining eyes through out a whole day.
In the evenings they get their veggiemix. I use whatever
vegetables are available in the supermarket. I usually mince veggies for 2-3
weeks at a time, then freeze it in portions ready to use.
As protein source I normally give them a mix of green tripe (30%) and beef meat
(70%) 3-4 times a week. 1-2 times a week they get beef liver or heart. Once a
week they get fish (canned or fresh). And 1-2 times a week they get beef tongue
or chicken/turkey meat. They each get about 150-200 gr. of meat and 3-5
tablespoons of veggies every day. Ikiru gets a little more veggies than Tora, as
she is older and has a tendency to overweight. Finally I add a little yoghurt to
each meal, as it is easier to convince the dogs to eat their veggies and
supplements, if it is "covered" by yoghurt.
In the veggies I mostly add a little honey for sweetness and strong immune system. And sometimes a raw egg to make the mix more fluid and easier to handle.
When feeding the dogs their evening meal I add a variety of supplements:
On a daily basis:
Oil rich on Omega 3 fat acids (I use salmon oil, another possibility is
linseed oil).
Garlic to boost the immune system and keep the dogs free of parasites.
Algae powder because it is very rich on natural vitamins. amino acids and
minerals - including iodine that is essential for the thyroid function.
Alfalfa powder, because it is also rich on natural vitamins/minerals/amino
acids.
Vitamin C to boost the immune system.
Vitamin E to avoid the oil getting rancid in the body.
On a more irregular basis:
Vitamin D in the winter time 3 times a week (the dogs produce vitamin D
themselves, when exposed to sunlight).
Alternative oils (i.e. olive oil) to provide omega 9 fat acids.
Vitamin A 2-3 times a week to boost immune system (amount depends on, how much
liver I feed that week)
That's it! And my dogs are doing very, very well on this diet... No itching, no parasites, beautiful coats, they are clearly thriving!
Now, good luck to you and your dog, if you have been inspired to start feeding your dog a raw natural diet as well!
Back to What
do my dogs get to eat?
Top of page
---------------------------------------------------------------
Links to other BARF'ers on my Dog Links Page.
BARF literature I recommend you to read:
(Following the links will take you to that book at Amazon,
where you can order the books from.
Tom Lonesdale's "Raw meaty bones" is only available from his website,
and Ian Billinghurst's newest book - The BARF Diet is only available from his
new website.)
Dr. Vet. Ian Billinghurst's three books:
Give Your Dog A Bone
(GYDAB) & Grow
Your Pups With Bones (GYPWB) & The
BARF Diet (including easy-to-follow recipes - super for BARF
beginners).
Dr. Vet. Tom Lonesdale's book: Raw meaty bones
More books (which I haven't read myself, but heard good
about):
DVM Richard H. Pitcairn & Susan Hubble Pitcairn:
Dr.
Pitcairn's Complete
Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
Juliette de Bairacli Levy: The Complete Herbal
Handbook for the Dog
Wendy Volhard: The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog
Kymythy R. Schultze: Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats : The Ultimate Pet Diet
-------------------------------------------------
Visitors since 04.01.02:
-------------------------------------------------